Handful of Kagi
by Dahlia Kioku
Summary: OC story. Tells the story of some regular girl, in a nice, regular world.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: And hello to you all again, from Sasayaku. This story, originally called Entwined Fates, had sadly been deleted by someone who she hates with a passion. I've made a few corrections here and there, added bits and bobs of scenes someplaces that I don't remember, proofread better than before. So this should be an improved version.

I hope you enjoy this, and I'm so sorry for the long delay in getting everything back up.

If any of my old readers still wants to continue reading, look for a story called Iro de la Vie, come April. It will be the "sequel' continuing from the beginning of the Exams, capishe?

Okay, that's done and over with. To my new readers, welcome! To old dudes, welcome back! I hope you like this improved version better, since I've cleared up some strange spots.

Disclaimer: I don't in any way own Naruto. It's not that hard, okay? 1. I'm not rich. 2. I'm no plot weaver. 3. You'd be pretty stupid if you really do think Naruto belongs to me.

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Chapter 1: Just a Normal Kid, Okay?  


The short man screamed again in pain, though upon closer inspection, there were no visible wounds of any kind on his body. He was a pudgy person, with short fingers and a tubby body. His fingernails dug into the palm of his hand, and drew blood, which ran down sluggishly down his arm. On his forehead was a ninja _hitai-ate_, marked by the sign of the Cloud.

His eyes were wide open, seeing a terror unseen by anyone save him, while his breathing was quick and harsh. "No," he said quietly, his voice a croak in his throat. "No more, I'll talk, just-" He coughed, spitting blood. "Please stop this."

"Then start talking." Another voice said above his writhing body. It seemed to have come from a man, who was wearing dark robes with the collar pulled high around his face, hiding his facial features from view. A pair of cold, blood red eyes, with a connected _tomoe _as the pupils in the middle, peered out from behind the high collar. The _tomoe_ faded almost immediately after he finished talking.

The shorter man glared up, with pure venom in his small, watery brown eyes; he was crying in anger. Standing above him, not moving an inch, the dark-haired man looked down at his victim with emotionless red eyes. The _tomoe _began forming again.

"No!" He screamed, covering his eyes in fear. "I'll talk! I'll talk! Please don't!"

The _tomoe _faded again. A photograph was shoved roughly before the man's screwed face. It looked to be a family portrait, with the mother sitting in the middle, a small smile on her face, and the father standing behind her with his hands on the back of her chair. Two boys stood around them. The older one stood to the right of his mother, with his _hitai-ate_ askew and a severe expression on his face. The other younger boy, his black eyes large and smiling, stood in the middle, one arm draped around both his older brother and his mother.

"Tell me," the dark-haired man said quietly, his voice as cold as his red eyes. "Have you seen her before? A girl who looks like the younger boy on this picture?"

The pudgy man glanced briefly at the picture, and then looked down with a sullen "no."

He was dragged up roughly by his collar, and slammed into wall behind him. His tormentor punched him calmly in the face. The man gagged, and spat out a mouthful of blood with a fallen tooth. "Don't you dare lie to me," his tormentor's voice whispered in his ear, dangerously soft. "You're one of the only Jounins who are still alive from thirteen years ago. You even participated in that mission. You know where she is." He shook the man. "Now hurry up and tell me!"

A second later, the dark-haired man jumped away in alarm, for a kunai was sticking out of the Cloud ninja's hand, and would have gutted him if he was a bit late. "Fuck you!" The Cloud ninja screamed, and tried to tackle the red-eyed man. Faster than the eye could see, the man had twisted around the ninja, and pressed a purpled-painted finger down on his pressure point. He was too late, however. When the ninja collapsed on the ground face up, he was clearly dying. The kunai that he attacked the dark-haired man with was sticking in his own body.

The red-eyed man cursed quietly. "I've blown another chance, haven't I?" He said, more to himself than to the dying Cloud ninja.

The Cloud ninja giggled, his voice dying in a croak. A bubble of blood burst on his lips. "Yeah dude, you sure did."

* * *

_Dark…so dark…I can barely see anything beyond five meters away…How much I would love it to just…drop the person on my back…lie down…and rest…_

_The problem is…I can't…I simply can't._

_To stop, means certain death, from the one I respect, the one I admire the most in the whole world. Also, the one that I'm most afraid of…Death, for me… and the one I carry._

_I can't let that happen…I have to go on…I have to get us both…away from…him._

_I can feel the blood dripping off my body, running from my head…down my face. So much blood…mostly mine, but his as well…_

_My forehead protector is falling…and I can't do anything to about it…I smile…funny thing, it is, how I can think about that in a situation like this._

_I…have no more chakra left. IF he catches up, which will be soon, I can't do anything to fight him, to protect us from him…_

_I'm at the end of my limit…every step is a burden._

_I can't go on much longer…_

_But I must…_

_I must go on… _

"Ohayou, nee-chan!"

"God! Get off me, you idiot!"

Thrashing around always works. As I lashed about, my baby brother Yukio finally climbed off my stomach, where he had been sitting just seconds before. Geez, I can't believe that I actually stayed asleep during all the time Yuki sat on me. I'm usually a light sleeper, waking up at any slight disturbances. It's probably that weird dream…

Meanwhile, Yuki went straight for the door, the quickest means of escape, from my wrath, which possibly includes flying objects. He grinned at me, eyebrows bouncing up and down like a tennis ball. Feh, typical Yuki. I'll never be able to do the eyebrows trick, though.

He should thank the gods that I'm not feeling wide awake enough yet…

"What the hell are you doing in my room? How did you get in my room? And haven't I told you a million times before not to sit on me and wake me up so early? How come you never remember anything that I tell you, Yuki?"

"Amazing, nee-chan. You can yell that loud at 6:30 in the morning. That exceeds even my expectations." Yuki's smile grew wider. "And speaking of remembering things, you should talk, seeing how you've forgotten what today is…"

I glared at him sourly. "Stop talking in riddles, Yuki. You better have a good reason for waking me up at 6:30, or else…" I cracked my knuckles ominously.

He ignored my threats, peeled my calendar off the wall, and walked over to my bed.

Today is…September 3rd, which means…

"Oh no! It's the first day of school! Why didn't you just tell me…?"

"You wouldn't have believed me even if I did tell you, nee-chan."

That's true… "But still…Geez, I hate school."

"Come on, nee-chan. Look at school as a good thing. At least you'll get to see Fujita-san everyday." He stepped out of my room just as my hairbrush hit the door with a loud thwack.

"Stupid brat." I muttered to myself as I got out of bed. Picking up the brush, I inspected it slightly. At least my hairbrush wasn't damaged, even if it didn't hit right on target.

I stepped inside the bathroom, and got cleaned up for the school day. As I brushed my mid-back length hair, I examined my reflection in the large, spotless mirror. Geez, I still looked exactly the same as I did when summer vacation started. Not an inch different, except a few locks of sun-streaked hair here and there.

People look at our family, and the first thing they always wonder about is the fact that none of our family members look alike.

There's absolutely no resemblance between anyone in our family. Nada. Zero. Niente. In other words, it's pretty much clear at first glance that Mom, Dad, Yukio, and me are definitely not related to each other.

Which we are not.

One thing must be made clear: Yukio and I are not blood-related siblings. We have no blood relationship to our parents either.

Yuki and I were both adopted when we're no more than a few months old. And our parents? They never made any effort as far as we know to even bother hiding the fact that we were adopted.

It seemed as long as we remembered, Yuki and I knew, that our "parents" aren't really our parents at all. I don't know if they always told us ever since we were babies that our real parents were not known, or if they just came up to us one while we were playacting Card-captors, and said, "Oh, by the way, you two aren't our real kids at all. You're just some brats that people ditched because you're just not worth being taken care of."

Not that I really care that much. I mean; the only kids our parents had ever had were Yuki and I. They aren't the best parents, I know, but still better than most. Just like the parents that everybody else had, except they give Yuki and I a hell lot more freedom than others do. We can practically do whatever we liked.

So I'm really not that bitter about the whole ditching thing. If my real parents brought me up, they probably would be like all the parents out there in Japan: controlling, demanding, extremely high standards, and rules so strict I'd rather not think about it. And I will just turn into another of those mindless study zombies out there.

Basically I'm kind of pleased about the fact that I'm adopted. One reason is because of my totally cool, hands-off parents. The other? Two words.

Shimoto Yukio, my little brother.

I love my adoptive family. How can I not? Nevertheless, like any other adopted child, I've wondered about what my real parents were like, and what kinds of a family we would have been. But my little fantasy always broke down quickly when I got to the part where Yuki wouldn't be part of my family.

Even though I call him brat, idiot, and all kinds of rude names, Yuki is probably the person I care about the most in the Shimoto household, maybe even in the whole world. I can't believe this, but Yuki is probably the best little brother anyone could ever have.

He's about a year younger than me, and one of the weirdest people I've ever met. Eccentric, random, insanely intelligent, all of those words only describe a tiny portion of who Yuki really is. He's one of the only people who can get me to calm down when I get mad. A really nice guy, he can always get anyone to feel better when they are sad or depressed. He also likes to tease people and play tricks all the time. But no one can ever get really angry with him. He's just that kind of person.

Wait, where was I before I started about my annoying little brother?

Oh yeah, the extreme differences in our family's looks.

There really is nothing much special about Mom and Dad's looks, since they look like the rest of the regular, middle-class people in Kyoto. Brown-black hair, dark brown eyes, short mom, dad a little taller, parents are both reed thin. Nothing makes them stand out in a crowd.

Yuki and me? We are a completely different story.

All right. The fact is I don't really stand out quickly in a crowd either. It all owes to my height. I've already turned 13 years old (according to parents, I actually have no idea when my real birthday is), and still not that much taller than four foot ten. It gets even more maddening when I consider that Yuki is already five foot three and still growing. The older sister is shorter than the younger brother…

However, it really doesn't take long for people to start staring at me. Almost every single day, people, especially those snobby girls at school, tell me to brush my hair. See, it's long, messy, and sticks out in the back. Nothing I do would help. And if that's not enough, it's so dark that it's almost blue.

The snobs always thought I was a punk rocker and dyed my hair.

Idiots.

They get even more freaked out when they see my face.

Let's see, what would people think when they see a girl with skin too pale to be an Asian, blue-black hair, and weird eyes that change color all the time?

Even I have to admit it myself, my eyes really are somewhat strange. Most Asians have dark brown eyes, no matter what anyone says. But my eyes are pitch black. I've stood in front of the mirror for hours at a time, looking at my eye color. And well, I could barely separate the pupil from the iris.

Despite that, it's still not the weirdest part.

My eyes change color.

It usually goes to a dark green, whenever I'm scared or angry. Freaky, huh?

And lately, it seems like I could see much more clearly than before. It's like I can predict people's movements.

It sounds impossible.

But it's true. It was almost as if I have the power to see the future or something along those lines. Creepiness.

What's more, I'm always right.

If people think I look a little weird, just wait till they see Yuki.

"Yukio" is an appropriate name for my brother. Every bit of his appearance tells people that he's not very mortal like, and that he's a "snow-boy".

I remembered the first time I've seen a picture of an albino person. It was in fourth grade, science class. Chiharu-sensei was teaching us about mutation in genetics, the natural kinds. Not like the _fugusha _who live in the slums of Kyoto after World War II.

"That's not an albino." I remember saying. "That looks like Yuki, and he's definitely not an albino. Albinos all have white hair, chalk-white skin, and red eyes that make them look like a rabid dog."

Chiharu-sensei had pursed her lips in a very disapproving way and sent me out of class for "rude disturbance," while the rest of the class howled with laughter. As I found out later, her sending me out of class probably had to do with the fact that she had an albino sister who, unfortunately, died early.

Anyhow, Yuki does look like an albino. Or should I say, quite a bit like Killua from Hunterxhunter. He has a thatch of short, messy white hair, and skin even paler than mine. However, his eyes look nothing like an albino's. While mine are dark, his were light. It's easy to predict his moods and emotions since his eyes change in every shade of blue possible with all the different feelings.

Yuki is called a freak even more than I am.

That's mainly why I hate going to school. Yuki and I have a really hard time there. Who wouldn't, if they were like us? With appearances like ours, it's practically an invitation for people to make fun of us.

It's a little better for me since I've taken _kendo_, the sword arts, ever since I was young, at the local dojo. True, I'm not the best at fighting, and I really don't like it that much, but it's enough to defend myself from any major humiliations from my classmates.

I feel sorry for Yuki, though. He hates fighting, would never lift a finger to protect himself, and therefore, has a much harder time than I do. He's the one who's usually beaten up in school. I can't even remember the number of times he came back from school with multiple bruises and sporting black eyes. At least he heals faster than most, or else I'd be really mad, and some more kids would be coming home with injuries every night.

Starting this year, he's going to the same middle school as I am. Hopefully, he won't be as badly injured as he was before, when we went to different schools. I might be able to help him out a little…

But that dream from last night right before Yuki woke me up, it has seemed so real. It's like I've actually lived straight through the whole event.

Even now, I can still feel the same terror and dread as I did when I fled. From whom was I fleeing from though?

The metallic, salty taste of blood still on my tongue. Knowing the fact that whoever had hurt us was someone that I had always loved, cared about, respected. That's a creepy thought.

I shivered involuntarily. I really should stop daydreaming. A few more minutes, and Yuki will probably be hollering at me to get out of the bathroom.

Besides, I'm not some kind of prophet. So obviously, I can't be predicting the future through dreams or premonitions or whatever…

And I really need to find my school uniform too. Where the hell did I put it last?

Shoot! I'm going to be late!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I think I'm a failure as well. After so many months of not updating, I come up with a crappy chapter.

Though I do promise to update at least twice a week from now on, since I hate unfinished business.

Please R&R. Thanks.

Chapter 2: Loser

Two words: I fail.

How many times has my temper gotten the better of me?

Oh dear god, I really don't think I want to know the answer to that question.

The thing is, after a few months of quiet time, I've gotten in trouble yet again.

Thanks, baby brother, you're just so incredibly helpful in letting me work out on my life.

Why do I always get into trouble because of you?

Damn it.

Okay, let's make the explanation short and sweet. I went to school, encountered some other guy picking on Yuki _yet again_, got pissed, and beat the crap out of him.

Fine. So the story isn't really that simple.

What I hadn't been expecting was for the guy to be a tae kwon do black belt, which nearly resulted in him beating the crap out of me instead.

Oh well, the ending is the same anyhow. The kid's dad is an important official in the government. Plus, his family is one of the chief donors to the school. Since I beat up that asshole, well, I'm screwed.

Mom and Dad are at school right now, trying to "smooth things over." I seriously doubt that it's going to work.

This is just great. I've never envisioned myself before as a middle-school dropout before. I mean, high school? That actually would be pretty cool. But middle school, for crying out loud? Where had my sense of pride gone?

Damn that Yuki. Why can't he be just grateful and shut up? If it were not for him, I wouldn't be even in this situation. But no, he is going all "it was none of your business in the first place. I can take care of myself. Goddamn nee-san, why can't you just leave me alone for once?"

I can't be getting angry with him right now. I have myself to worry about.

That's it. I can't stay in this house anymore. I'm going for a visit to the shrine.

As far back as I can remember; there had always been a little Inari shrine near our house. We live in the suburban areas of Kyoto, so it's a quiet place. Not many come here to pray or ask for anything. In fact, other than the old shrine keeper and the occasional foreign tourist with their digital cameras, I think I'm the only one who bothers coming here.

I stepped inside. The place was dark and cool. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the sweet, pungent scent of incense. It was a familiar smell, always able to calm me down when I needed it.

Inari, what am I going to do? Mom and Dad can't possibly convince those people not to expel me. Am I just doomed to be a little juvenile delinquent working in the dumpster and not even finish middle school? Of all the futures I've imagined for myself, that certainly isn't one of them.

I wish that I could just get away. This really wasn't the first time that I felt that I don't belong here. For one thing, I look like a complete freak next to all the black-haired, pale olive skinned Japanese people at school. And for another, none of them would accept me anyways, because of my retarded appearance.

Who am I kidding when I said that this place was my home? I sighed again, running a hand through my bangs.

Wait a second, why do I feel rain on myself? Is the roof leaking?

My eyes snapped open, and I almost fainted with shock.

What the hell?

Or more like, where the hell am I?

I looked around, struggling to keep my eyes open in spite of the pouring rain while lightning and thunder crashed overhead. Wherever I was, it was 1.) Definitely not in the Inari shrine and 2.) Somewhere that's not Kyoto at all.

Suddenly with a deafening boom, a lightning bolt nearly struck me where I stood, now shivering with cold. A school uniform certainly wasn't very well at protection from a thunderstorm. I remembered my lessons in school about lightning and trees, and squinted around, trying to find shelter before I got fried like a marshmallow right on the spot.

To my right, I could just barely make out a tiny house. Tripping and stumbling, I jogged over as fast as I could in loafers and a skirt. Thank god. The place look just about abandoned though. No matter, I could just wait out the storm and then continue on my way, hopefully to find civilization where I could ask about how I got here and how I could get home.

"Hello?" I yelled as loudly as I could over the din of the storm while banging on the door with all my strength. No one answered for the longest time.

"Screw this." I mumbled under my breath and tried the doorknob. To my surprise, it opened on the first push, and I nearly tripped on the way inside. Oh my god, thank all the kami there are that I'm finally out of that storm. I don't think I'd like to be electrocuted either.

However, as I looked around my surroundings, wringing out my clothes at the same time, it appears not to be abandoned after all. There was no dust on the ground, no spider webs in the corners. In fact, I was standing at the beginning of a long hall, the walls covered by threadbare curtains. The house looked neat and tidy, if a little old fashioned.

"Hello?" I called out again. "Is anybody here?"

There were no answers. Instead, only the howl of the wind outside responded.

"Hello?" I called out yet a third time, dragging out the syllables, hoping someone would come out and say something. Maybe I was just paranoid, but as I moved around, I keep on feeling as if someone was right behind me, watching me all the while.

I came up next to a tall, black door in the hallway, and knocked gently. There was no answer. Huh, guess I was wrong after all. There really is nobody here. Looking down at myself, I grimaced at the state of my bedraggled clothes. I probably look like a freak right now. It's time that I go and find myself a bathroom and hopefully some dry clothes to change into.

Growing bolder, I grasped the doorknob of the tall black door that I was next to, and pushed again. It opened a crack, but just barely.

"Damn it," I cursed under my breath. "What's wrong with this door? It's like, jammed or something."

Just then a gravelly voice came behind me that made my blood run cold.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

I was afraid to turn around. But I don't think I'd have any other choice.

I turned as slowly as I could, and found myself facing the most horrific man I've ever seen before. It took all my will to contain the impulse to scream. And even then, I had to stuff my fist into my mouth.

He looked like a humanized shark; he was completely blue.

I mean, he even had those slits along his cheeks that looked slightly like fish gills. His hair was blue; his skin was a grayish blue. The only part of him that weren't blue was his watery eyes, which were gray. They were completely emotionless, staring at me with a combination of annoyance and surprise.

"What the hell are you doing here, kid?" He said; he sounded rather irritated. "Nobody was supposed to be able to find this place. Itachi-san told me himself that he had activated a chakra shield around this area for about a kilometer around." He seemed more musing to himself than to me.

However, at that second, I was completely frozen with fear. Somehow, I wasn't able to move a limb. There seem to be an enormous murderous intent coming from him, and that feeling practically paralyzed me.

_Move! Move! _My mind was screaming at me, yet I couldn't budge an inch. _Move or you're dead, idiot!_

It didn't do me any good; I was still standing on the spot, eyes wide open, as the creepy guy went on, "Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway. I'll just kill you."

He turned to me, a savage smile on his face. "Stand still now," his voice was falsely sweet, "this shouldn't hurt much, not if you stand still. On the other hand, it'll be more fun to shred you piece to piece, don't you think?"

Oh my god. _Move! Damn it!_ I was screaming. Yet something about that guy seems to have stopped my ability to move for good. I couldn't even lift a finger to defend myself, let alone run.

The Shark-face seemed to have noticed my inability to move. A disappointed expression came upon his face, and he sighed dramatically. "Damn it all, and I was actually hoping to have some fun today. Why did I have to get an idiot who couldn't even lift a finger when in a situation like this?"

_Who could?_ I thought to myself, all the while trying to get away from his murderous aura.

He was still talking. "Well, then, I guess this also would work." Before I could blink, he had already drawn out eight shuriken looking things between his fingers, and was twirling them around and around his blue fingers. He grinned wolfishly. "It's been a long time since I had the chance of impaling someone like a hedgehog."

He was still twirling a shuriken around and around a ringed finger.

He's going to throw the accursed thing any moment now.

And I'll be damned if I'll just stand here still and die like this! For one thing, I still haven't managed to give Yuki a piece of my mind yet!

The shuriken left the finger and was speeding towards me…

This is so very strange. I know for a fact that the shuriken hasn't gotten here to me yet, but it seems to me as if I could tell where exactly it's going to land. And from what I could tell, it's going to hit me at the soft flesh between the right shoulder and the arm.

How on earth could I have known that?

I don't have enough time to dodge, so I guess my only choice is…!

All of a sudden, his terrifying spell seems to have broken. I could move again. Before I could do much thinking though, I had raised my left hand and caught the shuriken between my fingers.

It was only when I registered a sharp pain between my fingers that I realized that I was bleeding where the edge of the shuriken had cut into me. Hastily, I dropped the shuriken on the wooden floor. Meanwhile, the Shark-face was staring at me and blinking rapidly in surprise.

"Huh." He said quietly. "I guess there was more to you than what shows. Huh."

I didn't wait to listen to what else he might be saying and ran for my life. That didn't work out though, as I heard an impatient snort, and a second later, he was already standing in front of me again, this time frowning.

"I wonder." He was saying to me. "Now that I think about it, you look awfully like Itachi-san's little brat brother. But you can't be." He laughed to himself. "You're a girl, for crying out loud."

"And that look in your eyes. If I wasn't mistaken, your eyes turned red right before the shuriken hit you. You can't be…? Can you?"

I suddenly seem to have found my tongue. "Be what, asshole?"

Damn it, curse my rude mouth, why is it that I can never keep my mouth shut when I need to?

A leer appeared on his face. "Well, an Uchiha, of course."

For a long while, all that can be heard was a long silence. Then I started to laugh, "What the hell are you talking about?" I choked out between giggles. "Are you crazy or what?"

Shark-face looked slightly annoyed. My laughter died promptly as a kunai sliced through a lock of my hair. "Shut up, goddamn it." He grumbled. "What's so funny about it? For god's sake, you look enough like one."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Me? An Uchiha?" I swallowed another laugh. "Come on, man, has cosplaying gotten in your head or what? This isn't some Naruto world, okay? God."

Somehow a smirk was twisting its way on his mouth. "Oh really? Huh. Then I'm guessing you're not from around here at all." He suddenly frowned. "But then, how the hell did you get here?"

Now it was my turn to be annoyed. "What on earth are you talking about?"

He looked at me again, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Fuck. What are you?"

_A human_? My oh-so-witty mind offered. However, it seems like my power of speech died again, I couldn't move, or even say anything to defend myself.

"Goddamn it, why are you here?" He was staring at me with a combination of horror and hatred. "No one should be able to cross another dimension." He shook his head slowly, and from his back, drew a zanbatou look-alike sword. "You're too dangerous to live."

The sword swung downward, and the strange vision thing came again. However, try as I might, I couldn't budge a muscle. All that I could do was stand in horrified fascination as the sword came closer and closer to my head.

_Move!_ I yelled at myself. It was already too late. The sword bit into my left arm as I opened my mouth to scream. Damn it! I seem to have lost my voice as well. Though that didn't stop my sudden collapse on the ground, gasping with pain.

"Next one gets your head, kid." Shark-face remarked calmly on top of me; I could barely see him through a blaze of pain. "How did you just dodge that in the first place?" He shouldered his sword again. "Ah well, I won't miss this time."

_I'm so sorry for all the trouble that I've given to you guys all these years, Mom and Dad. Yuki, you'll have to take care of yourself from now on. For god's sakes, I don't even know where the hell I am. But I can't die; I can't die just yet!_

The sword swung, yet I still couldn't move.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the blow, hating myself for sitting still and not able to move all the while. Somehow, my right arm found its way over and pressed down on the deep wound on my arm. I could barely keep conscious with the sharp, stinging pain.

The sword never came down.

Instead, I heard a loud ping as the sword made contact with metal. Slowly, my eyes opened, and there was a dark-haired man standing in front of me. Both of his arms were held up in a defensive position with his armguards barely stopping the sword.

Shark-face was staring at the man in shock. "Itachi-san!" He said, "What on earth are you doing?"

Itachi – I think that's the guy's name, looked up at Shark-face. "That's exactly what I was about to ask you." He said in a quiet voice.

Just then, I slipped into the welcoming numbness of unconsciousness.

Kisame 

"Itachi-san, I didn't expect you to be back so quickly." I said. I didn't lower Samehada though. The girl had fainted, probably from loss of blood. But she still needs to die, as soon as possible.

"What are you doing with the girl, Kisame? Remember, our orders were to attract as little attention as possible. Killing a young girl will get us more attention than we should want." He's cold, as always.

I looked at him suspiciously; it's hard to tell what he's thinking, as always. "I thought your entire clan was dead, Itachi-san."

"That's true"

"Well, then, why does this girl have the Sharingan then? And another thing: I don't thinks she's from our world at all. She seems to be – " I searched for an adequate word, "from another dimension, or another world, since she doesn't think that our world exists at all."

He looked at me coldly. "Does that matter? We're not supposed to carelessly take civilian lives, or have you forgotten his orders?" He picked the girl up gently.

I stared at him, a little shocked. "Even an Uchiha with the second-level Sharingan can be called an ordinary civilian?" I asked him in disbelief.

When I next looked at him, his eyes had already turned in the blood red of the Mangekyou Sharingan. I backed away; it's never a good idea to upset Itachi, of all people. I mean, who'd like to be tortured by their worst fears over and over again?

"I wish to keep her alive, and with me, for a little while." His voice was a dangerous whisper. Then he whipped around, his Akatsuki robe flapping, and, kicking his door open, went inside with the girl.

I sighed in exasperation. Yet another troublesome whim of his, what's with that?

Itachi 

She has the Sharingan.

I can't believe that I never expected this coming.

To tell the truth, even after looking for her for such a long time, my hopes had dwindled down to almost nothing. I didn't actually think that she was still alive. To keep looking for her, well, it was only an unfulfilled purpose and goal that was still keeping me alive.

If only things have turned out differently, if only I could've have disobeyed, if only…

There were too many possible if only's.

Maybe that's why as I look at her now, I'm reminded yet again of Sasuke, who lived as a living embodiment of the guilt that I carry for murdering everyone.

It's been so long ever since I've been able to protect the ones whom I care about.

I hope to the gods that I will never have to hurt her.

But maybe that won't be a choice that I can have.

Blackness surrounded me. I am no more than a speck of dust in this dark void.

I am nothing.

Is this death?

Am I dead already?

No. I can see light coming into my field of vision. Very blurry light…

A dark room came into focus, as I crossed the fine line between the unknowing and the conscious. The room was sparsely furnished, with the bare necessities of a bedroom, not much more.

My arm was in agony. It feels like it was used for a dissecting experiment, then roughly sewn back together again…

At least now it's bandaged, and it doesn't look like it's bleeding anymore.

I was trying to recall the events that lead me to this situation.

A shark-faced man…telling me that I must die…

A _zanbatou_-looking sword ripping through my arm…

My vision allowing me to predict movements…

The _zanbatou_ raised…prepared for the final deathblow…

A dark haired form standing in front of me, arm guards raised to block the blow…

Then blackness…

My blood suddenly turned cold.

A man was sitting on a chair near the window.

Watching me.

I must have extraordinary luck.

It looks like I'm not going to die anytime soon.

Itachi-san had just stopped out of the room. To let me get some rest, or so he says.

He doesn't seem that bad. In fact, judging from his voice, he's probably the one who saved my life from Shark-face.

Or else those two must have the exact same voice.

When he saw that I noticed his presence, he stood up, came over by my bed, and sat down next to me, giving every appearance of visiting a sick patient.

"You're awake, miss? I'm sorry for the poor accommodations. This is the best we can find around this area."

Gods, he talked like a samurai from the old Meiji era…who is this guy, anyway?

I'm still feeling a bit woozy.

Am I back in Kyoto?

Then I remembered. Apparently I'm in some sort of weird Naruto world right now. Somehow I'm still not entirely convinced that I've managed to magically teleport myself into a brand new world. Not to mention, this particular one.

That means…that I'll never see any of my family again…not unless I know of a way to get back.

Which, unfortunately, I don't.

He misunderstood my bleak look. For he quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, miss. I'll leave you to rest for now. But before I take my leave, would you mind telling me your name?"

There's really no harm in answering this question, is there?

Besides, despite his polite manner, I have a weird feeling that this one is even more dangerous than old Shark-face…quite a bit more powerful too…

I sat up painfully, and tried to talk, but my voice came out only as a hoarse croak.

"Oh, I'm really sorry about not noticing your condition." He walked over to the table, poured out a cup of water, and supporting my head with one hand while holding the cup with the other, helped me gulp the water down.

I drank greedily. My throat felt as parched as a desert. How long have I been asleep, anyway?

Oh dear. This guy, whoever he is, is wearing the same weird black robes with the red clouds as Shark-face. And he…he paints his fingernails purple…with a ring on his right index finger.

I looked up, straight into his face. Really he doesn't look too bad. Not very old, either…

He looks about twenty years old or so, with dark gray hair that drifts into his eyes, tied back into a ponytail. But his eyes were a little scary. They were a dark red color with three comma-looking symbols revolving around the pupil.

Besides, even though he looks young, line, prematurely visible lines, have already marked his face around his mouth and nose, giving him a hard, weathered look. His eyes look weary and serious at the same time, like he had seen too many harsh events during his young life that no one would wish to see again.

I don't know why, but from that moment onward, I knew that I trusted him.

I don't even know why this guy is helping me, and I already respect him beyond measure…

Because I trust him, and he won't let me get hurt…

Wait a second, how on earth could I assume things like that? I must be crazy.

I suddenly found my voice again.

"I…my name is Shimoto Akira. Thank you…for helping me. How long have I been…"I fumbled for a word, "…unconscious?" My voice was raspy. Sounds as if I haven't used it for days. But at least I could speak.

"Close to three days now," he strode back to the table and put the cup down, then went toward the door. "Rest for now, Akira-san, is it? If there's anything that you need, don't hesitate to call for me." He put his hand on the handle.

"Wait a second, please." I spoke again. My voice sounds better now…

But despite my polite intentions, a rude question still popped out of my mouth.

"Who are you?"

He turned slightly and answered me.

He didn't respond in a mean or cruel way.

His answer scared the crap out of me just the same.

"Itachi."

I was trying my best not to laugh at that. Doesn't "Itachi" mean weasel?

But it was his next words that made my blood turn to ice.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi."

He shut the door quietly behind him, while I sat there on the bed, frozen.

I didn't watch anime that much after elementary school. In fact, I barely know anything about anime at this time.

However, what little I know is already enough.

Wasn't Uchiha Itachi a character in the anime series Naruto?

Huh, guess Shark-face wasn't lying or cosplaying after all. Though by his appearance, I'd guess that he's Itachi's partner, Kisame.

Of all the worlds that I could have disappeared into, this…is the world that I got myself in?

I don't know a lot about Naruto, but I do know that in the world of Naruto, ninjas are basically the ruling power.

I guess Kisame and Itachi are both ninjas then…

I also just happen to know that there are a lot of monsters and demons in this world…not purely human ones either…

Great. Just great.

I must be the luckiest girl in the world.

Kisame's POV

I don't get it.

Why is Itachi keeping this girl alive?

He has absolutely no reason to.

From all the time that I've known him, he's always wanted to kill off his entire clan, eliminating any who possess the Sharingan, besides his dumb little brother.

And now he's keeping some lame half-dead girl alive?

When she has the Sharingan?

Well, it was only the first level when I saw it, if I'm not mistaken, with one extra pupil in the left eye and two in the right eye. But given time and some good training, I won't be surprised if she develops it into second and third levels.

After all, all who're from that noble clan are known to be geniuses.

This kid's a threat to the Akatsuki. She doesn't even know that she has this bloodline limit. If Konoha, Orochimaru, or any other hidden ninja villages get their hands on her, it'll be one hell of a mess with the Akatsuki.

"She's useful," is all that he says.

Useful?

For what?

What a bunch of BS.

Itachi's POV

I'm positive now.

She really is…

I'm lucky. Seven years of fruitless searching, and she just walks straight into our hands.

Now that I've seen exactly how she looked like, there can be no doubt…

The exactly alike looks, the same powerful, though undeveloped Sharingan…

What more proof do I need?


End file.
